Cal-em’s power scraper conversion

[Tom O]

He always has some good ideas and is worth subscribing to.

 

[YYCHM]

What the heck do you use a power scraper for?

Never mind..... I watched the video

 

[Tom Kitta]

I commented on it that we should all do that conversion - a used saw can be had for cheap - like 20 or 30 - while used power scraper is like 1000 or a steal at 500. Then again I should probably first learn to do it by hand.

 

[PeterT]

I 'wondered out loud' about doing this exact thing on the other forum. People were polite but listed a number of reasons why it wouldn't be quite the same as a real Biax - stroke length, speed accuracy... I cant even recall the reasons now. I guess Ca' Lem didn't get the memo in time to be detracted or discouraged, LOL. The chances of finding even a reasonably priced used Biax is slim to none unless you get real lucky. New ones are insanely priced. So I commend him for what he put together. I follow his channel & always look forward to his projects. You can tell certain resources (probably including $) are quite limited but he makes up with many shortcomings with work & ingenuity. His new/old lathe is a beauty. I hope he can achieve the scraping results he is seeking. One day I intend to mess around with scraping but its on the 'one day' list.

 

[Tom Kitta]

I seen used Biax for sale cheap (like few hundred USD) but that was *before* I figured out what is this scraping business. Never seen them since for reasonable money.

It is also on my to do list to try scraping.

I think Ca Lem is well off with all the youtube money - even if 10% of his viewers are from US / west he is getting like $1000 a month from Google.

 

[trlvn]

I really enjoy Ca Lem's videos. Re stroke length, I believe somebody pointed out in the comments that he could easily convert 2 or 3 old reciprocating saws and have a different stroke length on each. All for a fraction of the cost of a used Biax. Most of them are variable speed to begin with.

Might even be possible to have different cams to swap in and out of the one unit. A really clever person might be able to make an adjustable cam.

Lots of possibilities--none of which I'll ever attempt!

Craig

 

[Tom Kitta]

Ca Lem just shortened the stroke - does not seem to be a big deal. The main difference is supposed precision of strokes & how much does it really matter. There have to be much better done components & possibly high end bearings in real Biax to justify the price - I wonder why for example Chinese did not release their own "cheap" knockoff of Biax - maybe too small of a market? A well made corded low power demolition saw is around $100 - if Chinese upgraded stuff in it then it should not go above 200. At price point of $200 CAD I would image there will be some sales... but maybe to few to bother?

 

[PeterT]

I've wondered the same. I guess just limited number of individuals who would scrape even if clone tool was less expensive. The people who do it for a living probably already have their tools & probably wont wear them out anytime soon. The other aspect for hobbyists (purely me watching videos & such) is you need a bit of grinding setup to properly dress the tools, at least if they are carbide. I cant recall the wheel off hand if it was diamond or CBN? & some alignment accessories. Didn't seem to onerous & those wheels can be reasonable priced, but a few more $ to throw at the tooling. Unless I'm mistaken, you can of course scrape CI, but I don't you think can recondition typical induction hardened surfaces, so that eliminates many current lathe bed ways. But probably fair game for older machines. Personally I would just like to make accurate fixtures & such.

 

[RobinHood]

Saw that video a few days ago. Very clever. Briefly thought I would add that to my list of projects. Then decided that the list was way too long already.

I had found the patent drawings for the Biax. Did not save the reference,

Forrest Addy commented in Ca Lem’s video - he has a picture of a slow speed lapping machine he made from an old washing machine motor in one of the links. He also linked great info on scraping in general.

 

[johnnielsen]

I have done some scraping, mostly fitting newly poured in place babbit bearings in machine housings.
I know I could get myself in a whole lot of trouble in a very short time with a scraping machine if I were to just go at it without careful consideration. For me, scraping was mostly making sure I took the right amount off in the right place so I did not create a cascading problem.

 

[kevin.decelles]

Agree John, any scraping I’ve done was by hand. Speed wasn’t a requirement, precision was. I always treated scraping as a relaxation task. Probably why I do metalwork as a hobby — doing anything for money on a schedule sucks the enjoyment out of it

But...... I’d like to try one of these retrofit scraping devices




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[johnnielsen]

Agree John, any scraping I’ve done was by hand. Speed wasn’t a requirement, precision was. I always treated scraping as a relaxation task. Probably why I do metalwork as a hobby — doing anything for money on a schedule sucks the enjoyment out of it

But...... I’d like to try one of these retrofit scraping devices




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would like to try one also on practice pieces. Converting a reciprocating saw sounds interesting.